Cap-spinning apparatus



Nov. 11, 1941. PT N 2,262,144

CAP-SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 11, 1941. w. H. KIMPTON CAP- SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 2, 1940 4 Sheets-Shget 2 Nov. 11, 1941. wH. KIMPTQN 2,262,144

CAP-SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 WAAKWWZTOM Nov. 11, 1941.

w. H. KIMPTON CAP-SPINNING APPARATUS Filed Jul\2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Vaientecl Nov. 11, 1941 CAP- SPINNING APPARATUS William Harry Kimpton, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application July 2, 1940, Serial No. 343,535 In Great Britain July 19, 1939 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in or relating to cap spinning apparatus.

According to one important feature of the invention, the throwing-on of the yarn in starting up the cap-spinning operation is facilitated by means of a notched disc resting on and supported by the spindle below the bobbin, the notches running angularly from the periphery of the disc to receive the thread presented to the disc and containing means to grip firmly the thread pulled into a notch. As the thread is thus picked up by the disc rotating with the spindle, it becomes attached to the bobbin to enable winding to start; and the tail of thread extending below the disc is cleanly broken away.

The means for gripping the thread may consist of soft rubber pads confined in recesses in which the notches terminate. Centrifugal force presses the pads outwards in their recesses, so that as the thread is pulled between a pad and the edge of the recess containing the pad it is firmly ripped.

The breaking away of the tail of yarn is particularly important in the cap spinning of threads of artificial filaments, such as cellulose acetate threads, since the high speed at which such threads are usually delivered to the cap spindles in the course of their manufacture makes the manual severance close to the bobbin exceedingly diflicult, and long lengths of lashing tails are frequently produced.

The rubber pads may conveniently be held in place in their recesses by means of plates secured to the faces of the disc so as to cover the recesses except for portions near the periphery of the disc sufllcient to permit the entry of the thread to be gripped by the pads. The edge of the disc and the tips of the nibs formed by the notches are smoothed so as not to endanger the fingers of the operative. The disc may be recessed so as to engage driving lugs on the spindle.

A further important feature of the invention is concerned with the application of a throwing-on device of the character described above, to the mechanical transfer of thread from a completely wound bobbin on one cap spindle to an empty bobbin on another cap spindle. As completion of one bobbin approaches, an auxiliary balloon guide is brought into position just below the main balloon guide over the spindle on which winding is taking place to permit the auxiliary guide to take over temporary control of the thread. The main balloon guide is then caused to traverse from a position co-axial with the one spindle to a corresponding position at an ad-' jacent spindle, so that the thread follows a horizontal path from the main guide to the advanced auxiliary guide. Between the spindles a vertically-depending flexible fork is carried by a vertical guide, and is allowed to fall on the horizontal length of thread extending between; the two guides, thus forming a thread loop between the two spindles. While winding still continues at the one spindle the loop of thread is carried' downwards between the spindles, and as the fork approaches the bobbin rail it encounters a curved surface which deflects it under a notched disc below the bottom flange of the empty bobbin of the adjacent spindle, the thread then being seized by the notched disc. As the notch into which the thread happens to be led grips the thread, the thread is broken below the disc, and the tail of thread is taken up on the completed bobbin. At the same time winding is transferred to the empty bobbin.

The fork then rises on its guide in readiness for a further descent, a switch on the vertical guide for the fork being actuated by a pin on the fork so that the next time the fork descends it encounters an oppositely curved surface near the bobbin rail to deflect the thread under the first spindle, which by this time has had its completed bobbin removed and an empty bobbin placed on it. Before this second transfer of thread from spindle to spindle, a similar operation of auxiliary balloon guide and traverse of the main balloon guide take place. Conveniently the auxiliary balloon guides for the two spindles are actuated by a common lever so that as one guide advances to take control of the thread below the main balloon guide the auxiliary guide recedes.

The flexible fork is conveniently formed of a number of chain links permitting flexibility in either direction from the vertical when the tip of the fork encounters one or other of the curved surfaces.

A timing mechanism operating on a cycle appropriate to the size of bobbin, the weight (denier) of the thread, and the speed of delivery of the thread may be used to eflect the mechanical transfer of thread automatically. Advantageously one timing mechanism controls all the spindles of a spinning machine, so that the automatic transfer from one spindle to another takes in readiness for the transfer. On the otherhand.

a machine may be provided with an additional of thread from one pair of spindles to an adiacent pair.

The accompanying diagrammatic drawings show a cap-spinning apparatus in which a double-row of spindles is provided, transfer of thread being between two adjacent spindles ofthe same row, and each such pair of spindles in each row having its own forked guide.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation showing the timing mechanism;

'Figs. 2 and 3 are a side elevation and a. plan of Fig. l, the timing mechanism being omitted;

Fig. 4 is a plan of a throwing-on disc;

Fig. 5 is a part-sectional elevation of the disc:

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are front and side elevations and a plan of a detail of Figs. 1 and 2, to a layer scale; and Fig. 9 is a development of the controlling cam shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 1-3, cellulose acetate threads I produced in the spinning-cell 2 are drawn from the cell by a feed-roller 3 and delivered thereby to two rows of cap-spinning devices 4. To provide for the lubrication of the threads, an oil trough 6 is disposed between the cell 2 and the feed-roller 3 and the threads contact with wick-material 6 depending into the trough. The quantity of oil necessary'for efiicient capspinning and for satisfactory later handling of the yarn is controlled in accordance with such factors as thread denier and spinning speed by suitably adjusting the distance between the level of the oil in the trough 6 and the point of contact of the thread with the wick 6, and by suitable choice of wick, as by using a heavy wick for heavier applications of oil, and lighter lamp wick for lesser applications.

For each thread, a pair of cap-spinning devices 4 is provided, only one such pair being shown in Fig. 1, although it will be readily apparent that such pairs extend to the left along the whole length of the spinning machine, the capspindles I being carried by the'spindle-rail 8. Each feed-roller 3 receives two threads from the cell 2, one thread being delivered to a pair of spindles of an inner row and the other to a pair of spindles of an outer row, the spindle-rails 3 for the two rows being shown in Fig. 2.

The bobbins 9 carried by the bobbin-rails III are traversed up and down in the usual way by poker bars ll operated by suitable cam-gear (not shown), and the four bobbins associated with one feed-roller are driven by a single driving-tape l2, as shown in Fig. 3.

A frame I 3 carried by the spindle-rails 8 provides a support for pillars l4, of which one is provided for each pair of bobbins. Each pillar of the inner ,row carries a guide l5 by which a thread is directed to the outer row of bobbins. Above each pair of bobbins is a. main balloon guide i6, these guides being carried by rods II slidable lengthwise of the machine so that it may be brought into line with one or other of the bobbins.

Below the level of the guide il, a pair of substitute balloon guides i9 is provided, one for each bobbin. Front and back guides II are carried by rods l3 slidable forwards and backwards so that each guide may be brought into line with its bobbin or retracted. The rods l9 are connected by a lever 26 centrally pivoted at 2| so that. when one pair (e, g.'left-hand) of guides I3 are retracted, the other pair is in line with its pair of bobbins. With the main guides it 'in line with the left-hand pair of bobbins and the substitute guides l6 retracted from this pair of bobbins, two threads i proceed to the lefthand bobbins, one direct from the feed-roller 3 to the inner guide l6 and the other by the guide I! to the outer guide i6 (see Fig. 2).

Below each bobbin is a throwing-on disc 22 comprising a central plate 23 slightly larger than the bottom flange 24 of the bobbin. The edge of the plate 23 is notched acutely as shown at 26, each notch ending in a circular gap 26 filled by a soft rubber disc 21. The several discs 21 are held in place by outer plates 28 secured to the disc 23 and partiallyoverlapping the recesses 26.

Between each pair of bobbins in both inner and outer rows is a deflector plate 29 that has a peak mid-way between the bobbins and then curves down to each side to pass below the throwing-on discs 22. The plate 29 serves to direct to one or other oi the bobbins a flexible mechanical finger 36 movable up and down the pillar l4. The finger consists of three links 3i hinged together at 32, the uppermost link being attached to an arm 33 carried by a stud 34 extending through a vertical slot 35 in one side of the pillar l4 and secured to a weight 36 lying inside the pillar. A spring 31 is connected at 36 to the links 3| to keep them in line, with a guide 39 secured to the lowest link pointing downwards.

A prong 49 extends from the lowest link 3| towards the pillar l4 and just below the level of the prong when the finger 30 is raised to the top of the pillar is a funnel 4| from the throat of which a guide-bar 42 extends towards the level of the bottom flanges of the bobbins at the lowest point in their traverse. A pivot 43 at the top of the bar 42 carries a flap 44, the lower end 45 of which is in the form of a loop free to pass through a slot 46 in the bar 42 and into slots 41 in the sides of the funnel 4|, reaching limiting positions in which the upper end of the flap is roughly parallel to one or other of the inclined walls of the funnel.

When the finger 30 is lowered, the flap 44 directs the prong 46 to one side of the bar 42, so that ultimately the guide 39 on the finger 36 meets the corresponding side of the deflector 29. But during the early part of the descent of the finger, the prong 39 engages the loop 46 of the flap 44 and rocks the flap about its pivot 43 until its upper end lies across the path that the descending prong had followed. Then, when the finger 39 is raised, the prong meets the flap, but the flexibility of the finger permits the prong to bediverted until it passes over the top end or the flap to allow the finger to spring back to vertical position. On the next descent of the finger, the flap carries the prong to the other side of the bar 42, and the guide 39 meets the other side of the deflector 29.

This alternating deflection of the guide 39 is used to efiect automatic transfer from one bobbin to another, right-'to-left, and left-to-right,

s ear in continuous succession, in the following way:

In Fig, 6, the left-hand bobbin 8 is the one on which winding is nearly complete. The substitute guide II has been moved forward into line with the bobbin, and the main guide it has been moved from the left-hand to the right-hand bobbin, the substitute guide ll taking over the control of the ballooning thread I proceeding to the left-hand bobbin. The movement of the main guide I to the right causes a length ll of thread to run horizontally below the guide ll and lowering of the guide draws this length into a loop, the left-hand limb l! of which is kept from contact with the balloon II at the left-hand bobbin by a wire guide carried by the guide II. The right-hand limb 52 of the loop passes over the surface of the cap 58 of the right-hand spindle.

The flap it being in the position shown in Fig. 6, the finger II is deflected to the right; and the guide 3! contacts with the right-hand side of the deflector II to carry the point of the loop 4!, 52 under the notched plate 28 of the throwing-on discs rotating with the right-hand bobbin 9. The

end of the limb l2 enters one of the notches 25 and is drawn between the rubber pad 21 and the side of the recess II into which the notch leads,

the deflector I! at any precise point in the traverse stroke of the bobbins, because the guide is deflected as soon as it meets the deflector-which, of course, traverses with the bobbins. When the finger ll returns to the top of the pillar H, the flap N is set to direct the finger to the lefthand bobbin on its next descent.

Three distinct mechanical movements are required to effect the transfer of the thread:

I. Movement of the pair of main guides I from left-to-right or right-to-left. This is effected by coupling the rods II by a bar I connected by lever '5, link 56, lever 51, and link II to a cam-follower lever 5! controlled by a groove 8| of a drum-cam controlling cam I.

II. Forward and backward movements respectively of the two pairs of substitute guides I8. This is effected by connecting an arm 82 of lever 2| through link 03, lever SI and link i! to a cam-follower lever 66 controlled by a groove '1 of the cam I.

III. Downward and upward movements of the pair of fingers ill. Thisiseflected by cords I from the weights ll passing round and connected to a a slow-running shaft 1! when a rod If is depressed. Timing-gear I8 of any suitable kind is set to depress the lever I! pivoted to the top-of the rod Tl at intervals of time suflicient to flll a bobbin, the intervals depending on the bobbin size, thread denier, and thread delivery speed. A knob 00 may also be used to depress the rod 11 manually. 4

When the rod I1 is depressed, the clutch I5 is engaged and makes one revolution before automatically disengaging itself ,during which time the cam 6| makes the half-revolution of movement required to transfer the thread from one bobbin to the other, or, rather, from one pair of bobbins to the other pair.

When winding is proceeding on one half of the spindles, the bobbins are dofled from the other spindles and replaced by empty bobbins in readiness for the next'transfer. Because transfer is almost instantaneous. the full output of the spinning machine is obtained as wound cap-spun thread-apart from loss due to any accidental thread breakage-and the waste collected during the ordinary manual dofling and donning does not arise. Further, the timing mechanism ensures that the same amount of thread is wound on successive bobbins, and the simultaneous transfer at all the spindles of the machine ensures of course, that all the several bobbins wound at one time contain the same amount of thread.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

pair of large-diameter pulleys 89 to which is' secured a small-diameter pulley It A cord H secured to the pulley 1| is connected to a camfollower lever 1! controlled by a groove vI3 of the 1. Cap-spinning apparatus comprising a pair of spindles, adapted to support throwing-on devices adapted to receive and grip threads presented thereto, a main balloon guide movable from a position co-axial with onespindle to a corresponding position at the other spindle, means to effect such movement of the main balloon guide, a pair of substitute balloon guides movable into and out of positions co-axial with the two spindles, means for moving one substitute guide into such position at one spindle and the other out of such position at the other spindle, a vertically movable guide disposed between the spindles, means for effecting upward and downward movements of said guide, and means for deflecting said guide towards one spindle on its downward movement to bring into engagement with a throwing-on device at that spindle a thread engaged by the guide between the main balloon guide and one of the substitute guides.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the vertically movable guide is flexible so as to be capable of deflection to one side or the other and wherein the deflecting means comprises 'a plate curving downwardly from its mid-point towards each throwing-on device, one of the curved portions being engaged by the guide on its downward movement to deflect the guide towards the corresponding throwing-on device.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vertically movable guide is flexible, so as to be capable of deflection to one side or the other, and wherein the deflecting means comprises a plate curving downwardly from its mid-point towards each throwing-on device, one of the curved portions being engaged by the guide on its downward movement to deflect the guide towards the corresponding throwing-on device, the apparatus also comprising a member connected to the guide to direct the guide to one curved portion of the deflecting plate and a pivoted flap positioned in the path of said member so as to be moved about its pivot by the member on the downward move- I ment of the guide, so as to directthe guide to the 5. Apparatus according to claim 1,-comprising a controlling mechanism for eflecting in turn the movement of the two substitute guides, the movement' of the main guide from one spindle to the other, and the downward and upward movements of the vertically movable guide, and a timing mechanism for setting the controlling mechanism into operation. .7

WIIMAH HARRY KIMP'I'ON 

